MORE than a third of the 220 workers who face redundancy at a financial services firm in Dublin could hold on to their jobs -- but only if they move to Limerick.

Staff at Northern Trust's offices in Townsend Street and the International Financial Services Centre in Dublin were shocked yesterday after being told they would lose their jobs.

But the employees, who work in graduate fund administration positions, were told they had first call on 80 jobs at the firm's global fund service centre in Limerick over the next 18 months.

Northern Trust said the job losses were necessary as a number of positions were "duplicated" after the investment management firm bought Bank of Ireland Securities Services last month, bringing its total Irish workforce to 950.

"The impact of these changes on our affected employees is extremely regrettable," CEO Wilson Leech said.

The grim announcement came as it emerged that 100 high-end jobs will be created at an electronics firm in Limerick over the next five years.

Research

Analog Devices will create the highly skilled jobs by investing €50m in a new research and development facility in Limerick.

It is also expected that 130 construction workers will be employed to build the 140,000 sq ft facility beside the current site at Raheen Business Park on the outskirts of Limerick city.

The 100 people to be employed by Analog will be qualified in engineering, research and development roles, with some working in a state-of-the-art specialised laboratory site.

Analog, which has been based in Limerick for 35 years, is among the global leaders in the development of semiconductors for the technology industries.

Analog president and CEO, Jerald Fishman, praised the high educational standard of graduates coming from third-level institutions.

"In Limerick, we really depend on the universities to train graduates that we hire. We get more than our fair share of the best and the brightest coming out of the university system. We value innovation," he said.

At the jobs announcement, Finance Minister Michael Noonan said he was living through his fourth recession. To emerge from the economic gloom, a different business model was needed for the country, rather than the Celtic Tiger boom of attempting to get wealthy by selling property, he added.

Mr Noonan said the business model required was similar to what was implemented from 1994 to the turn of the millennium.

"We were investing in the country. The industries were coming and developing, like Analog, to give work to young graduates in knowledge-based industries. We need to get back to that model," he said.

Meanwhile, the Communications Workers' Union met American Airlines yesterday after it announced it will close its Dublin office with the loss of 130 jobs.